This is South Jersey!

SJ Magazine’s new TV show ad in the September issue.

After three years of secrecy, I can finally release this exciting piece of news.  SQ Productions is producing a television show!  Although we have produced a lot of internet content, and been a part of TV crews for other production companies, this is the very first time we have top production credit with our production company logo shown at the end of a show.  You know, “Sit Ubu. Sit.”?  That’s us!

“This is the very first time we have top production credit with our production company logo shown at the end of a show.”

I have been discussing the possibility of the show with Marianne Aleardi, Editor-in-Chief of SJ Magazine, over the past three years to review the logistics of producing content for NJTV.  There was a lot to go over, as this was the first endeavor into the TV broadcast medium for SJ Magazine.  Although SJ Magazine has been delivering written content to households for over ten years, Marianne eloquently expressed in SJ’s September issue that she felt a bit like a fish-out-of-water when preparing for TV.

“I’ve spent the last few months doing work I’ve never done before…”

Marianne’s writes about her process in September’s issue of SJ Magazine.

In her article, she writes, “This has definitely been an out-of-my-comfort-zone experience for me. I’ve spent the last few months doing work I’ve never done before, like writing and recording narration.  I’d spend two hours writing 23 seconds of copy. I really did. I’ve been writing magazine stories for over 30 years, and 23 seconds of copy almost killed me.”

Turns out, there was a lot for us to learn, as well.  We are used to making our corporate films with approximate lengths, but NJTV needed the episodes to be exactly 26:46 and not a second longer, which was a challenge.  We also had to enter the world of Closed Captioning.  Per FCC regulations, all TV broadcast content has to be captioned.  This opened up a new process of learning.

I also thought this would be a great opportunity, not just for me, but for so many production professionals, who work with me on a steady basis, to have chance at earning TV credits in new roles. This will be my first TV credit in the role of director.  A few production assistants became shooters, researchers and script supervisors.  A musician became a field soundman, and a production coordinator became supervising producer.

I have been thrilled to begin this endeavor with Marianne and SJ Magazine.  The experience has been amazing.  I’ve learned so much, and I’m honored to have had the opportunity to watch my company officially enter the world of broadcast TV.  The first episode is set to air on Wednesday, November 12th at 8:30pm.

Watch our sizzle reel below to get a sneek-peek of the first episode.  We hope you enjoy it, and look forward to watching the first episode in it’s entirety on TV with us.

You can find more information about the show and the process in SJ Magazine’s “Wide Awake” section on sjmagazine.net.